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Theology of the Heart: Teachings of the Saints |
On
the Martyrdom of John the Baptist
Saint Bede the Venerable
This
reading on the martyrdom of John the Baptist was taken from a sermon of
St. Bede the Venerable (Hom 23: CCL 122, 354, 356-357) and is in the
Office of Readings for August 29, the memorial of the martyrdom of John
the Baptist.
As forerunner of our Lord’s
birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a
goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture:
Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of
immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful
celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his
suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendor of his own
blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he
stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on
behalf of our Lord.
There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as
a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life
for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but
only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died
for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John
shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.
Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the
coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering
he showed that Christ also would suffer.
Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of
this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He
preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by
ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he
came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a
bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was
baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the
Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to
see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure
temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for
such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he
knew eternal joy would be his reward.
Since death was ever near at hand through the inescapable necessity of
nature, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain
the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the
apostle Paul rightly says: You have been granted the privilege not only
to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake. He tells us why it
is Christ’s gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: The
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that is to be revealed in us.
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
